Failed Republican Economic Plans…

I couldn’t help myself with this one. You know, we have listened to the the Democrats get on their soap box for the last 3 months and tell us how the Republicans and their flawed economic policies have been exposed, and the Democrats are “through with listening to their failed ideas”. As may of you know I am not a member of the Republican party, but I still didn’t like hearing it from the Democrats on this one, because Iam a fiscal conservative. I believe that the economic policies of the GOP are far better than those of the Democratic party. Sure, neither of them would be nearly as good as the policies me and BF would implement, but given the choice of the two parties in power’s economic ideals, I will take the Republican plan every time.

And let me be clear on where I stand on the economic policies out there. I am not going to talk about the ideal policies that could be in play here, because that is a whole other discussion. Right now we have two choices, the Democrat economic platform and the Republican economic platform.

Democrats believe in social welfare and redistribution of wealth. This means tax the crap out of the rich and give it to the poor. Then the economy will rise, and after all, the wealthy can afford to give a little more…

Republicans believe in trickle down economics. Give tax breaks to the rich. The rich provide the jobs to the poor, so increasing their wealth increases the number of jobs and amounts of money available to the poor from the rich…

We are hearing a lot from the Soap Box Democrats these days about how the Republican fiscal ideals failed America and caused this economic meltdown. Of course they are on the box about how Republicans de-regulated everything and gave the business world the ability to screw us too. In fact there is not much these days that these piece of crap soap box Democrats aren’t attempting to blame on Republicans. But all that is another story for another day. Both parties are equally liable for where we are, it just so happens that class warfare against the rich plays better on TV in this particular election cycle, so that plays into the liberal playbook (in fact it is Chapter One in their playbook). Some Examples:

“Republicans have clearly failed on the economy. Bush touted tax cuts as the driver of economic growth while racking up a projected 10 year budget deficit of $3.4 Trillion”(Congratulations Mr. Hoyer, your party has managed to increase that by 50% in just 60 days) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, (D) MD

“Can there be any doubt? Republican fiscal policy has trashed our economy, and the global economy in the bargain.” – Robert Griffith, Democratic Columnist

“I’m trying to save the planet, I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuses for their failed policy. When you win the election, you win the majority, and what is the power of the speaker? To set the agenda. My agenda is to move away from the failed Republican fiscal mindsets of the last 8 years” – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Even more than the blame game that is going on in Washington, we are hearing from these Soap Box Democrats that there is a new mandate in America. The people have spoken and those people want socialism (OK they don’t call it socialism, but I don’t have to call a dog a dog either, you see it and recognize what it is). They are telling us that the people love the Democratic ideals and have thus given them the mandate for nationalized health care, state control of private industry, increased welfare, and “stimulus” bills that have 40 years worth of democratic agenda items stuffed in the spending. They tell us the people have figured you Republicans out and they no longer believe that you are the right path for America…..

And then we get this report today on the fundraising for the the two parties in the month of February. The Democratic National Committee raised only $3.26 million in February, the first month under its new chairman, former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, according to the February campaign finance reports. Two years ago, under Chairman Howard “Give ’em your War Cry” Dean, the committee raised $5.5 million in February.

The Republican National Committee, on the other hand raised $5.1 million last month, giving a lift to new Chairman Michael Steele after a rough first few weeks as Chairman.

A quick side note to the numbers released today: The DNC reported $8.6 million on hand and $7 million in debt, while the RNC reported $24 million in the bank and no debt. So the Democrats have roughly $1.6 million in the bank that is not already spent, and the Republicans have, let’s see 24 million minus their debt of zero equals, my math says $24 million in the bank. And the Democrats are talking about the Republican’s failed fiscal plans?

But I digress, the point is that the Republicans raised more money in the month of February than the Democrats did. And I have to ask myself how this could be, given that America has abandoned the Republican ideals in favor of the planned United Socialist States of America. Democrats blame the bad economy, noting that charities also have been reporting tepid giving. Perhaps because the wealthy are the ones who give to charity and they are hearing daily about how much of their wealth you intend to “redistribute”

Well here is your answer, Soap Box Democrats: America is beginning to wake up a little bit. They are beginning to see through your lies and recognize socialism for what it is. You don’t have a mandate and the next year or so is going to show you just how wrong you were to think arrogantly that you did.

But here is my message to you Republicans. Don’t waste this. Rahm Emanuel said that “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” He meant it in the wrong way, but you can use this crisis to offer up a better alternative to the madness coming from the Democratic Party these days. If the Democrats are willing to bet the entire U.S. economy on a 1931 theory known as the Keynesian multiplier, surely Republicans can excavate and relearn the core idea handed down to them by Ronald Reagan. That idea was known as economic growth.

Freed to choose between these two competing ideas, I’m guessing the majority of Americans will go for growth. All that’s needed is just one Republican who can explain this idea halfway as well as Ronald Reagan. The Republicans have been handed the chance to offer the American people an alternative vision of how their economy works — and grows. They should take political ownership of the 75% of the U.S. economy that the Democrats have abandoned — the private economy.

And start talking about the free market again, Republicans. Democrats have attempted to use their Soap Box to tell the public that your policies are proof that the free market is a bad idea, that government intervention is the necessary thing to stop corruption. Stop letting them dictate to the American public what Republicans believe; Get out there and tell them yourselves! A true free market would be the key to American resurgence. Help Americans understand that concept again….

Comments

But the Republicans had their chance – 8 years straight – and they demonstrated that they loved a government controlled economy as much as the Democrats.

So, I don’t understand why you want a party that by demonstration has shown its disrespect to free market systems to come to power to replace a party that has shown its disrespect to free market systems…..

You are assuming that I want the Republican party. I was merely pointing out some truths and giving advice to the Republican party that I believe to be sound. I do like the concept of fiscal conservatism. I wish the Republican party was better at doing what they say as well.

Yeah because that worked out SO well. Regulations were not designed to punish those who practise good business ethics. They were put in place to curb corporate greed. We’ve seen what happens when businesses have the freedom to do whatever they wish. There are simply too many people like Bernie Madoff to trust the market to regulate itself and keep greed in check. Just as the government implements traffic laws to keep bad driving in check, there must be laws and regulations on the market to keep bad businessmen in check. This actually makes the free market freer, because a safer market breeds more confidence, especially for smaller businesses who are intimidated by larger corporations with nothing keeping them from stomping out small competition. The Republicans are deep in the pockets of big business. One needs only to look at which party gets more money from corporate lobbies. So given this fact, can you really trust that the Republican economic policy has everyone’s best interests at heart, or just the interest of their campaign contributors? Think about that for a moment, and then decide which economic policy is truly designed to benefit everyone and not just the richest 1%.

Brandon, you can’t be serious? There is just no truth to anything you stated. I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I’ll just state that the greatest cause of the lower standard of living for Americans today and our recession is trade policy failures by government whether that government be run by Republicans or Democrats. Let’s face some reality here, there are fewer employment opportunities in America today because we have made it advantageous to offshore production. Production is the lifeblood of a strong economy. Our government has created trade policies that have sucked the lifeblood out of our country. The Democrats are just as guilty, just as culpable. Worse perhaps are the Democrats plans to implement trade and cap taxes for which the lion’s share will be paid for by the poor and the middle-class, the wealthy get a huge break on this. Then there’s Obama’s hairbrained idea that green technology initiatives will create jobs in America as we lead the way in building the new technologies. Apparently this dunce has never heard of Suntech, Chinese company that makes solar panels, and Suzlon, Indian company that makes wind turbines, so make no mistake about it that the majority of production of these technologies will also go abroad as well. The Democrats are no more the friend of the poor and middle-class than the Republicans are.

There’s one thing for certain.There’s ample blame to go around.The politicians,the bankers,the mortgage brokers,the ratings houses,the insurance companies.Regulations,the lack of the right regulations,all factor into a theft so large that the figure isn’t known yet,or let’s say,released yet.I figure that with the next 1.2 trillion we’ll be between 25-30% toward the real number.That means that there is 70-75% more spending to reach the bottom of the debt pile.

Did someone mention free market?You actually think it would be a good idea to let this present cast of characters loose in a world of no regulation?Sorry,I don’t believe that’s a good idea. Good regulations are needed.That’s evident in the fact that some countries still have sound banking systems.

Ronald Reagan. He parallels my ex wife exactly.They both took an entity that could issue credit and turned it into a debtor when someone failed to watch the finances closely.My ex wife confined her misadventures to me,whereas Reagan took down the whole couuntry from a creditor nation to a debtor nation.It was my fault in both cases because I took my eye off the finances.You all get to join in the blame with me when it comes to Reagan.

Somehow we have to get control of the finances again.They are completely out of whack with reality.The politicians and the bankers,with their huge salaries and their ridiculous bonuses have proven that they’re not up to the job.They have been tried in the court of public opinion and found wanting.

I just recently discovered this site and love the mature, intelligent nature of it. I too am not party affiliated, but a fiscal conservative. Although, having come to the USA as a child from a communist country, I tend to lean libertarian as far as individual rights are concerned.

That being said, I agree that the Republicans need someone who can communicate ideas simply. It’s obvious that this administration intends to keep the chaos going so that they can take advantage of the ‘crisis’ mode to bypass any debate on issues. Human beings respond better to structure. Therefore, I think that if someone can present and explain a structured plan for whatever the issue is, they will get far in advancing their ideas.

I work a lot. I work as a chemical process technician on the Texas gulf coast. Rotating 12 hour shifts in a huge production facility making polyethylene products out of an autoclave system. I have put years into my education and career. The huricane last year had my plant under 10 feet of salt water from the storm surge and have been busy repairing and replacing equipment. We just started back up at VERY reduced rates since demand for product has dropped with the failing economy.

The cap -n- trade legislature has me worried about the entire gulf coast regions production facilities being able to stay in business competitively. We are talking tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, if you count support fields of this industry; because Obama wants to tax the rich corporations. Liberals are using the cap -n- trade as an excuse to tax when they are saying it is to clean up the environment.

Once he runs these companies out of the U.S. since they can’t make any profit does he plan to pay for new career education? Will we be forced to live off the government through thier new GIVE program as government slaves just to support our families? Our economy has become so service based that I believe if the production aspect of our economy continues to dwindle as it is, then the service aspect…ie insurance, accounting, legal etc. will begin to become more impacted. It will be a domino effect. Then the Liberals will start to feel the angst of this crazy legislature. Perhaps then they will wake up.

I am disgusted with this new POTUS. I am disgusted with our government officials for allowing this to happen.
I do not believe our nation can withstand four years of this communist Islamic sympathizers regime. Isn’t socialism just the road that leads to communism anyways? At the current rate of spending he is creating HUGE government. With the loss of jobs that is bound to happen there will not be enough income from taxes to support this HUGE government and there will be a collapse.

Texas did not take any of the spendulous money. Our governor refused to. I applaud and support him for that. I also trust and believe that he will not allow the gulf coast industry to collapse. I don’t see how Texas could even recognize the cap -n- trade legislature even if it passes. It would be economic disaster for us.

USW,
I would agree with this post were it not for the fact that I also agree with BF’s post. The game that the republicans talk is not the game they actually play, and the result is a failed policy. Much of our economic problems is indeed a result of the last 8 years. Of course, now the Dems are trying to fix the bridge by driving extra heavy trucks over it and setting off explosives at the base, but it still doesn’t change the fact that the republican policy failed. It failed because they did something other than what they stand for.

A lot of people are supporting them now because they are realizing that they really are the lesser of two evils. I am sorry, but the lesser of two evils is not good enough for me, and its not good enough to fix the mess we are in. It is easier to fix a small third party and make it functional than to fix the Republican party at this point. I will take the leaky motorboat to get me to safety over the sinking Titanic any day.

Unfortunately you are correct sir. The Republicans have not done what they say. Here I only espouse that I agree with the idea of fiscal conservatism, not that I think the Republican party is the way for America to go.

This is my first visit and post to this site and I wanted to compliment everyone on sincere, well thought post instead of the usual party line or the insanity border patrol that I see on many sites. I am a registered Republican but I vote on the person not the party. My problem is that I cannot find anyone in the political arena that I can put any faith in to REPRESENT ME!! I think that I speak for a majority of Americans when I say that our supposed representatives in Washington and to a great extent, State and Local Governments have lost focus on their constituents and push whatever agenda benefits them most. This attitude has fostered and nurtured the economic chaos that is now in our midst. Everyone knows that every decision entails a consequence and reward. Well in case anyone has missed it, we are fresh out of the rewards and the consequences are coming to bear.

The single largest drag on the US economy is the public debt. The US is effectively bankrupt! Don’t believe it? Ask China’s premier who has voiced concern over America’s direction and its ability to pay off the huge debt that China owns! That is one of the purposes for Mrs. Clintons visit to the People’s Republic last month. The only way out of this mess is to do what Obama claimed he was going to do during the campaign, couple a strategic stimulus plan with equal cuts in the US budget to offset it. His “plan” further called for balancing the budget by 2011!

That “plan” was thrown out the window on innauguration day and capped off by the largest “Stimulus” PORK in our country’s history. What is really needed NOW are the following actions:

Stop the stimulus package and freeze it until a comprehensive review can be carried out by an independent group of economist and business leaders line by line with the emphasis on long term, sustainable growth. If it smells like pork, remove it!

Return the President’s budget to him and tell him to sharpen his pencil! We don’t just need a balanced budget, we need a budget that will start paying down the National Debt with real principle payments, not just debt service.

Give the President the power of the line item veto and make sure that he uses it! If he won’t use it or doesn’t start being fiscally responsible, let him know about it in 2012. As a matter of fact, make sure that Congress follows the same rules or live with their mistakes on election day.

Term limits! We need to get rid of the power brokers and the dead wood. Most Congressman are so entrenched with huge war chest that new blood cannot even compete even if their message is strong because they are outspent during the elections.

Throw out the current Federal Tax Code and start anew with a fair tax system that applies to all equally. No deductions, no exemptions, no corporate tax shelters. A straight percentage of earnings regardless of how you spend it. The displaced IRS workers can be moved over to enforcement in and around the Washington DC area where it seems that most of our current deliquencies are occuring.

Leave the free market system to the market and stop socializing and nationalizing business. Government has a really poor record of management as it is, don’t compound it by allowing them to run business where the goal is obtain a return on investments. They have shown a propensity to fail repeatedly in that regard.

Everything but the last two are nothing but re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Check out my blog and read the five part thing that I posted there last week. On the last two of your paragraphs we are on the same page.

Putting all that power in the hands of a single one-track-minded Marxist like Obama is national suicide.

We need to bring our form of Government (OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people) clearly into the 21st Century.

Don’t let the name fool you. I’m American. I just spent an important part of my life in the “north”. What bothers me is when someone says they are a “fiscal conservative”. That to me is a completely subjective term that can mean different things to different people. it also bothers me when someone says we only have two choices of economic platform. We could have a third – a compromise – but unfortunately we as Americans have allowed both parties to be hamstrung by the extreme left and right. For example, when someone says they are fiscally conservative it sounds to me that they will willfully ignore our nation’s need for an energy policy, a defined approach to health care reform and the need to solve the future solvency problem of social security. Now I am not a financial genius, however, I know that these issues will be expensive to fix. They will probably be more expensive than they would have needed to be but past administrations have ignored these issues. Until Republicans (of which I am one) demonstrate some type of knowledgeable leadership concerning these issues, they will continue to lose elections. And please do not quote Ronald Reagan or other leaders of the past. The world is so vastly different from a demographic population standpoint. Mr. Reagan did not have to confront the demographic shift of aging baby boomers, as one example. To summarize, “soap box” or not the Democrats are at least trying to confront these issues. Will it cost money to do that? You bet it will. And please do not mislabel their efforts as “redistribution of wealth”. This is just a divisive, distracting term to divide people into a class struggle. We should all as a nation be interested in making sure that all Americans can not just survive, but be comfortable as possible as we all age together. If you want to say this a “soap box” speech, fine. But I truly believe that the Republican party is becoming obsolete because it forgot about the average middle class American. Sure hope this posts. It was a lot of work.

I will define my fiscal conservatism. I am a capitalist. I despise income redistribution. The Republicans do less of that then the Democrats so I choose them. However I was clear that if I had my dithers, BF and I would write a new fiscal policy, in fact I would have a completely different type of government altogether… an ACTUAL Constititutional Republic. We could have a third policy, but we don’t, so my premise was given these two choices I would take the Republican plan over the Democrat.

And please do not mislabel their efforts as “redistribution of wealth”.

Well then what exactly would you call having the top 5% of earners paying the lion’s share of taxes and the taking of more money for the wealthy in order to redistribute it to the poor? I don’t call it that to be divisive. I call it that because that is what it is. If the term, which is accurate, doesn’t sit well with you, perhaps it is because the concept should not sit well with you either.

Canadianfox,
1) There is no extreme left and right concerning fiscal matters. There is only extreme statism.

2) The “energy policy” we need is one that gets the government out of the way and opens the field to innovation. Also, the government needs to stop manipulating the oil markets, in either direction. And no foreign policy interference in the oil supply.

3) The “health care reform” we need is to get the government out of the way, stop with the interference in medicine, stop having so many obstacles to new medicine. Stop having the medical industry and the government in bed with each other. Stop using lack of health care coverage as a fear tactic. I haven’t had it in over a decade. I’m not scared. And stop with the runaway judicial system that permits such scandalous and expensive suits that drive up the costs.

4) The way to make Social Security solvent is to phase it out, starting in favor of retirement and savings accounts that are pre-tax, and start shifting more of the cost of Social Security to the individual instead of the business so that people see what it really costs them. Stop increases in benefits and gradually increase qualifications to receive those benefits, until the whole program ceases to exist.

Yes, these issues have been ignored, and have even been added to. The solutions, however, are not along the lines that you imply.

I have read what you wrote, and I disagree with you to a certain extent. Do you remember “Joe the Plumber”? Do you remember what it was that Obama said to him? He said that he wanted to spread the wealth around . . . Now just where do you think he is going to get that wealth? Before any government can “spread the wealth” it has to take it from somebody. That is what is going to pay for all this Universal Healthcare that he keeps talking about. He has to get the money from somewhere, and that somewhere is our wallets. If that isn’t “Redistribution” I don’t know what is.

We have known since I was knee high to a grasshopper that the baby boomers would retire someday – I am one of them(born in 1943) – snd our politicians have continued to ignore that fact and used that money coming in for their pork barrel projects.

Get out of the “middle of the road” mindset. My choice is to be conservative. Completely conservative. But then I am much more radical than most who inhabit this blog. Stick around and join us for a while.

CanadianFox: I suggest you go back and read threads on other economic issues here. You will begin to see that the terms like “redistribution of wealth” are accurate and not used just to divide. By the way, there has not been a war on the middle class, there has been an attack on our political/economic heritage and it has been going on for over a century. You will find discussion of this on this blog site as well.

The reason Reagan is often quoted by those of us who believe in our founding principles is that Reagan spoke to those principles. Execution was not up to the speaches but at least he understood and articulated the principles. It is those principles that are being destroyed. The change in demographics has absolutely nothing to do with the underlying principles of our nation. These have been abandoned without us ever having the debate over whether we wanted to change. It is time to get back to the principles and have that discussion. If you want a “pragmatic” govt based on what ever is convenient for the times then make that case. But don’t accuse me of being divisive because I choose to stand on my principles. Until you convince me to move through logical arguments (aka. sound reasoning) I will stand firm. I for one am no longer interested in the “can’t we all just get along” theory of government. Compromise is the nuanced art of surrender. I am done compromising principles for political or economic expediancy.

We live, and have lived for some time, under a fascist economic system. This is in fact the supposed “compromise” position you crave and that has finally failed. The current administration and main Democratic players in congress are moving us toward socialism, pure and simple. Redistribution of wealth is their goal, you had better wake up and start listening to what they acutally say. We have never, and I emphasize never, lived under an unregulated Capitalist system. The closest we got was the first decade after the constitution was ratified. Many of us here don’t agree that we need a bunch of federal policies to deal with energy, medical costs, etc. We have had federal policies for decades on all of these (ie., fascism). What we need is the power of free market Capitalism to be unleashed. Most of these supposed problems would vanish quickly if it were.

Ron: This is for your comments in particular. Remember, reductions in regulation do not mean we let criminals run loose or run our economy. Laws regarding theft and fraud still apply. Let the lawyers practice their trade in court instead of the back rooms of Wash. D.C.. We were a debtor nation before Reagan came to office and we have been one ever since. The occassional “reported” balanced budget does not eliminate the prior years accumulated debt. And these supposed annual surpluses have been mostly fiction, based on out year projections. Not actual annual income vs expenditures.

Our federal gov’t needs to start publishing an annual Balance Sheet in addition to an annual Income Statement. Then we had all better learn how to read it and understand it.

JAC, A big H.T. to you for the comments. We no longer have the luxury of compromise. You should copyright the phrase “Compromise is the nuanced art of surrender!” Thank you for also pointing out that we have been a debtor nation years before President Reagan was at the helm. I think it was somewhere around the abolition of the gold standard! The term “balanced budget” is window dressing for the uninformed electorate. As I mentioned in my post above, we need more than a balanced budget! We need a budget that not only takes care of the nation’s bills but also has provisions to retire the national debt instead of just debt service. (Interest Payments).

Ron: One more item. The current batch of characters who you indicate caused all this mess are not the bankers and wall street boys. They were in fact regulated. Years ago our wonderful politicians regulated “risk” out of the market. By doing so they removed the “free market constraint” on stupidity. I would also like to point out that while there are many screaming that these investment mechanisms were not regulated and the Admin wasn’t doing its job, I have never heard any critic propose exactly what law or regulation wasn’t being enforced or what specific law or regulation should have been imposed.

I guarantee you that for every supposed failure in capitalism that you show me I can show you how gov’t interferance in the system led to that failure. And if for some reason I can’t I am sure there is at least one other here who can.

Ron, The ratio that you speak about is a very important one and it was removed by the Clinton administration along with some guidelines about debt to income ratios for borrowers. This was not originated by the government but by the bankers that you speak about. The Clinton administration effectively said that it was discrimination and lowered the bar for millions of otherwise unqualified borrowers.

If you use the term “failed policies of the last 8 years”, that isn’t exactly all on the Republicans. Maybe 6 years, but Nancy & Harry had 2 years and did nothing. Actually, they wanted more money in the 08 budget, and GW wouldn’t go for it. There isn’t a liberal bone in my body, and I would vote for a stick before I would a liberal. Obama was transparently liberal if anyone cared enough to do the research. Now we are talking about the “bonuses” when we should be talking about all of the money, 50%, sent overseas funding our enemies. I care about those bonuses, don’t get me wrong…………but they pale in comparison to the taxpayer money that was sent out of the country. If we let the idiots continue to spin the country into a tizzy over one thing while they are doing much more damage some where else, we will never be able to fix this mess.

In politics 101 it will be explained that there are only 2 parties in the U.S. whose candidates have any chance of changing the outcome of any legislation put forth.There are also only two parties whose candidates have any chance of becoming President.Anyone who voted outside these two parties in the last election threw their vote to the wind as far as having any impact,unless of course the adjenda of the Libertarians was in fact to see Barak Obama elected.

Of course there are many other fringe parties in the country that will stay fringe for the forseeable future.

You are correct that only the two big parties have any chance whatsoever to become President. The wording of the Constitution ensures that. But when it comes to other positions within government, a third party does have a chance.

Red State Voter: Ahhhh. The magicians have done it again. I am afraid you were misdirected last week as well. What we should have been focused on is the $1 Trillion the fed committed to purchasing Treasury Notes (our debt) last week. That is $1 Trillion in new paper money (or digital money, or a combination thereof) in the system.

The other thing that should have been the next biggest item was Mexico’s threat to impose taxes on our exports. This is a threatened trade war. If this spreads with the current global and US economic situation all hell will break loose. Does any one besides BF and US remember the economic situations that led to WWII???? If you won’t trade with me then I get a bigger stick and take what I want.

Don’t get me all wrong here. I would also like to know why money was sent overseas. But remember, AIG insured banks around the world against losses from Credit Default Swaps and Mortgage Backed Securities. Were these payments to cover payouts under those policies? Or, was the Fed/Treasury just using AIG to funnel money somewhere else (laundry anyone)? Its the why that needs to be answered.

The Punch Line: From now on, whenever the Admin, Congress or media starts making a lot of noise about something, especially if combined with obvious outrage, turn around and look behind you, to see the real crime.

Now that I have made up for a few days off, I hope you all have a great weekend. I for one am going fly fishing for steelhead trout in a couple of hours and won’t be back until Monday. It is time to clear my head so that I can focus my thoughts as to where we are going from here. So until then–best wishes!!!
JAC

I do not understand the prevailing wage act and why Davis Bacon laws still exhist. I work for a non union company (www.letsdig.com) that specializes in residential construction, but does some municipal work as well. I do not understand why we have to charge the government triple what we charge homeowners. I am happy with my normal wage and benefits package. When we work on government funded projects, I get more than double pay, but the union hall gets the benefit package and retirement money. Even after the union takes their cut, I make about 8.00 per hour more than usual. They say that after 5000 hours I will be vested and be able to put that money in my company matched IRA. In the last 5 years, I have a total of 246 union hours. The prospects of being vested do not look good. I like the way my non union company treats my retirement. They match the first three percent I contribute and I can take it with me if I leave the company, no questions asked. Union retirement, if you leave before it is vested, you get nothing, not one dime.
Anyway, my question is why we have to charge taxpayers more than any individual. I like the extra pay, but I am not really earning it. I feel like I am stealing from my neighbors. I feel guilty cashing the checks.
I really do not get how the rules in the stimulus plan will create jobs, I see it as forcing companies like mine to join unions or not be able to work on any stimulus package projects. Where is the outrage? Do people know how much more their money is abused by AFL/CIO than AIG?
I challenge union laborers and equipment operators who work for taxpayers to ask this question to one of their neighbors: I worked x hours today and completed x task, I have calculated the wages I am due as x. Did I earn my pay? Fill in your own x’s and be honest. When I did it, I felt bad cashing the check. I outperformed most people on the job site, worked through one of my breaks, and still think I was paid far more than I produced. I say to ask your neighbor because that is who is really writing your paycheck.

It happens that last summer and fall,in our spare time,weekends and his vacations,we installed a closed loop geothermal system in his house.Neither of us had ever seen a geothermal system before.We sized a heat pump at 4 ton,installed 5000′ of 3/4″underground in 6’deep trenches.This is the far northeast,28 below here this winter.We did all of the work ourselves,the design and all phases of the installation,including digging,all plumbing,all electrical.We installed pex tubing in the living area floors,in floor heating was already installed in the basement.This is a water to water system,so domestic hot water is supplied as well.We installed a tankless water heater for domestic hot water during the off months.All codes,environmental regulations were met and satisfied.

One aspect of the job was contracted.that was the fusing of the plastic pipes underground.We did not have the necessary equipment for this job.

Last year’s oil cost for this house was in the neighborhood of $3000.This unit is costing $150 a month to heat his house and hot water.

Dom, I too deal with prevailing wage on federal government jobs. Pain in the rear to keep up with and you are right if it is a federal contract you just charge the goverment more. Talk about waste!!!
But this is to satisfy the Unions, they can not compete if they have to pay 20 per hour and non-union bidders only have to pay 18 per hour. It is to prevent the unions from going out the door. Only thing is all those wages the unions guys make do not get to stay in their pocket….part of what they make goes back to pay for the union….LOL.
Unions are a thing of the past and workers need to figure that out before they all become unemployed. They are sucking America dry.

It is important to recognize that not all unions are bad. Some are, such as the UAW, but there are many that provide training and leadership and don’t get out of control. We just don’t hear about them in the news.

I just found this site though a Fox news post. I am glad I found it.
I believe this is the first blog I have found that there is no cussing and name calling
etc. I am not quite ready to post my thoughts because I am not informed enough at this moment to contribute wisely. But I will soon . Till then I will just read and become more informed.
Thanks again for this blog.

Actually, this is not a liberal problem or conservative problem or a democrate problem or a republican problem….the problem is an AMerican problem. Let me explain: Two year olds have to be watched constantly….you take your eyes off them and they get into something. Our founding fathers knew this thus the protections they set up. But we have not watched our two year old. We have allowed him to run ramshod until he is unruly and head strong. Now what are we going to do about it? We can say well the democrates caused this or the repulicans caused this but actually lazy America caused this because they did not do what was required of them and that was keep a check on government. We need to coral our two year old….wear him out and set him in the corner until they learn to behave. Meaning we start acting like grown up and start paying attention to what is going on around us instead of looking the other way or expecting someone else to do it for us. I believe America is heeding its wake up call. 1st we have to get the media on our side, as long as they continue to blind the people to what is going on then people will not see (beause they are to lasy to look). 2nd we need money…if you don’t get the word out people will not know what is going on.3rd we need people (lots of people)who care really care about what is happening. Blaming (what is going on inside our governing body now)is just a side trick that gets us off the problem and its solutions.
We have some wonderful caring people on this forum and I think here is a wonderful start.

That is a good point. We have sat back on our collective asses and let the government get to the point that it is at. Now people are waking up and saying what happened? The question now becomes have we let it go for so long that there is no getting it back under control.

I agree US that for now, we have basically a 2 party system in America. That is why we need to reelect Conservative Republicans with some great big conditions. Now I’m talking to any who decide to run in the next elections.
1. DO

Sorry, I was cut off in the middle.
1. DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO!!!!!!!!!!!
2. IF YOU RUN AS A FISCAL CONSERVATIVE, THEN BYGOD BE ONE!
3. BY FISCAL CONSERVATIVE WE MEAN THAT YOU DON’T SPEND MORE THAN AMERICA HAS. WE NEED TO STAY WITHIN OUR MEANS EVEN IF THAT MEANS PROGRAMS HAVE TO BE CUT. YOU CAN START IMO WITH WELFARE.
4. THIS IS A CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC, NOT A SOCIALIST DEMOCRACY! (IF YOU DISAGREE BF, AND I’M SURE YOU DO THEN YOU’LL AGREE THAT IT DAMN SURE SHOULD BE!!)
5. IF YOU DON’T HOLD TO YOUR CAMPAIGN PROMISES, WE SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECALL YOU RIGHT BACK OUT OF OFFICE. PRESIDENT OR CONGRESSMEMBER.
6. ALL BILLS SHOULD BE PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE FOR PERVIEW BEFORE VOTE
7. YOU WORK FOR US. NOT A PAC OR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTOR. FORGET THIS AT YOUR PERIL.
8. WE ARE WATCHING. AND WE WILL NOT FORGET.
These are all I have time for right now but you can see where i’m going with this. These are only a few ways we can take back OUR government. We need to do so quickly though or imo it will be too late.

I agree with you 100%. Now it is up to American voters to hold them responsible for fulfilling that contract. That is where we have fallen down. They all take the exact oath you espouse here, then we do nothing about it. Congress has an incumbent reelection rate over 90%.

Add in economic aid to states, foreign countries and our bailouts to banking and I don’t think my brain can quite grasp the figures that will be there for 2009.

Just think what could be accomplished with that much money for America if it were spent where it really needed to be spent.
545 members of the House and Senate including our 1 president in that figure; are responsible for determining where all that money goes.

Democrats and Republicans have both failed. Both parties see only thier own agendas. Both parties are too strong. MMS seems to have the power to elect any official they want rather than bein’ unbiased in thier coverage. We’ve heard it for years Congress is full of crooks. Being as there are only 2 political parties to choose from I have always voted for who I deemed the lesser of the two evils. Now it seems there is no seperation between the two evils. So I have a question to pose to you concerned Americans. How can we realistically fix these issues? Voting for a candidate that will fix these issues is supposed to be the correct way but how is that possible with the financial clout these two parties have?

Well said. The government has not only gotten too big, it has gotten WAY too big. What we need is a ten year halt on government spending of any kind. It would be painful but perhaps a re-set like that could get us on the right path.

What irks me about the Democrats philosophy regrading redistribution of wealth is how they play the class warfare game. They throw doctors and small business owners and accountants and two income couples in the same category as the people on Wall Street who make multimillions every year. They use the “greedy” Wall Street fat cats and CEO’s as the poster children to rouse populist rage, but the money they make is in a whole different league than the aforementioned categories of professionals who are thrown into the same “rich” pot. And these are the majority of the rich that Obama will punish, as let’s face it, there are lot more of those professionals than CEOs and investment bankers. And there are a lot more people who can aspire to that lifestyle than that of a Wall Street fat cat. There are many areas in this country in which Obama’s definition of rich does not allow for a rich lifestyle by any means. So what the Dems are doing is killing the desire to strive for a better lifestyle, the American Dream, by lumping together a whole lot of folks who have about as much in common with gazillionire CEO’s as Britney Spears has with the Pope.

I agree that I would prefer Republican policies to that of the Democrats. Everyone seems to have forgotten that the economy was doing quite well until the democrats gained control of the congress in 2006. The economy has continued to unravel since then and now with the democrats in control of the White House, the senate and the congress our economy has sunk even further into an abyss. Doesn’t anybody get it? No the Republicans aren’t perfect but they are still a better alternative to what we have now. Four more years of Democratic policies and the middle class and upper middle class will be wiped out. We will be left with the super rich and the poor. And that means most of you who are reading this.

Where is the personal accountability in this country?! I read a lot of blogs, newspapers, and other media and all you hear about is who is to blame for the economic tank we are in. People in general seem to forget that investments in companies carry risk. Investments in homes carry risk. Investments in anything carry risk, and managing that risk on a personal level is the responsibility of the individual. Not the responsibility of government, or regulation, or your neighbor.

If your are in a tight money situation because your house isn’t worth as much or that your investment portfolio is down by half you are the primary person to blame. And I reflect this back on myself as well. I am invested in three houses, have a diversified stock portfolio that is down 32%, and worry every day about what else is going to come at me. I do recognize that governmental factors contributed to this across the spectrum downturn; however, the person to blame for my personal situation is me. No one else just me. I knew there was risk in owning three houses, I knew there was risk in the markets but I wanted a return – so I took the risk. Now, I have to realize that there is additional risk out there and make conscientious decisions to mitigate that risk to the best of my ability. My houses won’t sell for what I want so I found renters. I am not panicing about my stock portfolio because I believe that in the long-run, my returns will be there. I’m buckling down and working hard so I don’t lose my job and I’m looking for other ways to make income on the side. I’m also planning for a doomsday scenario (outlined by BF) by being prepared to survive on much less.

This level of personal accountability seems to me to be lacking in our country. People seem to expect to be able to invest in a house and in the stock market without any risk. They seem to want guaranteed returns and guaranteed appreciation, and many want the government to fix it so they can.

USW, I agree with you that the Republicans are the “lesser of two evils.” However, I have to say that our entire governmental structure is broken. I no longer hold any confidence in the federal government and can only hope that the state governments begin to step up and take back the power that is constitutionally theirs. We as a people (in general) have turned our backs on personal accountability and responsibility so I don’t hold out hope that the federal government will ever change. So long as people are able to vote themselves money and guarantees (false guarantess that is) the government will remain corrupted.

If Bush policy of spending a trillion dollars on government in the war on terror and homeland security got us into this financial crises then why would anyone believe spending a trillion dollars on government by Obama will get us out of it? That doesn’t make any sense.

McCain was a moderate, the people rejected a moderate, neither party will ever offer a us a moderate ever again as it just leads to a landslide loss as their base desert them.

I’m so very tired of hearing rhetoric in regard to our two party system. I believe it is all just talk and I believe that because in recent history no third party candidate has ever come close to winning in a presidential election. If you want a third party you have to vote for a third party.

If you still think Obama is going to fix everything you have a big shock coming to you within the next year.

Yeah… I agree Jeepndd, that big shock will be called socialism; unless 2010 gives us enough lawmakers with some good ole’ fashioned American values “what we call cojoneys in Texas” back in congress to rein in this runaway horse.